Our Story, part 1

Friday will mark 11 years. Eleven years since that morning Eric and I walked into the Mesa Arizona temple together to be married and sealed for time and all eternity.

Our story began about 9 months before that.

I take that back, maybe it goes back to about a year before that day. It was my first semester at ASU. I had a full-ride scholarship, but I was living at home to save money. I started feeling really unsettled and made the decision that it was time to move out and try my hand at this growing up, living on my own, and paying bills thing.

I had a friend from work who was also ready to move out of her parents house. She had a cousin with an open room and was looking for another roommate. I thought it sounded good to move in with those girls, but when it came time to make the decision there was no good reason not to, except it didn't feel right. That guidance from the Spirit helped me to end up in the right place.

Soon after I found another place with an open spot just a few minutes from ASU campus. In January, I moved into that little house in The Oaks with four other girls. Three of those girls were from Eagar, Arizona. I had never heard of Eagar, AZ before. Yet, that little town became very significant to this story.

me, Robin, Kiri, Tona, and Lisa

me, Tona, and Robin

me, Kiri, Robin, and Tona

Two months-ish later,in February, the boy I had been dating left on his mission.

That same month Eric Allred returned home from his mission, though I didn't meet him until March.

Sometime in March I came home from visiting my grandma to find my roommates hanging out with two of their old friends from high school. I was introduced to Eric and Devon.

Eric says he remembers that day perfectly because I showed them the crazy, cool old orange shirt that my grandma gave me. He says that it was this moment that he became interested in me because I seemed like a cool, cute girl.

Eric started coming to our house to use our computer and stuff. Really he was just coming over because he was chasing after my roommate, Robin, because they had been good friends in high school. So I saw him a little bit.

One night at the beginning of April we all went over to Devon and Eric's house to play games. I wrote in my journal that night two important things. 1) I won at monopoly! even when the boys conspired against me. 2) "I think I kinda like Eric." It was the first time I mentioned Eric in my journal.

It was a week later before I saw Eric again. My roommate, Kiri, invited me to go with her to an Easter party. I had a big paper to write for my Japanese history class so I was going to stay home and work on it. But then I found out that Robin was going to go with Kiri. And that Eric was going, too. I decided the paper could wait.

I had a lot of fun with Eric that night. We talked a lot and got along well. I remember he still had this cute accent from speaking Portuguese in Brazil. But I also remember that was the night that Tona told me that Devon told her that Eric likes Robin.

That's how it went for a few weeks. Eric would come over to hang out with Robin. Or Robin would invite Eric to come with us to the Easter pageant or whatever we were doing. And I would come home and write in my journal about how Eric wrote his name on my foot, I saw Eric at church, Eric is cute, Eric tells funny stories, Eric died his hair black (what was he thinking?!), I need to get over Eric, Eric came with me and Lisa to wal-mart and he didn't make fun of my ghetto car, I really like Eric, Eric probably doesn't like me, Tona and I watched McClintock with Devon and Eric, I need to avoid Eric for awhile so I can get over him, I came home from work and guess who was there? Eric!, I just don't care about eating when Eric's around, I sat by Eric at church, Devon and Eric invited me to the lake with them, I'm glad Eric and I are friends, etc. etc. From April until the middle of May, Eric was mentioned in almost all of journal entries. By that time, anything between Robin and Eric had fizzled out.They were just friends.

Then in the middle of May, Eric and I both received a boost of confidence/push in the right direction/kick in the pants (whatever you want to call it). I was riding in the car with my roommate, Lisa. We were talking about different boys and she told me I should go for Eric. Because he liked me. Likewise, Lisa had planted that seed in Eric's head telling him that I liked him, without me telling her so, encouraging him to date me.

Lisa, Tona, and me

The next day, I was doing my statistics homework when Eric called Lisa to see if she could go shopping with him for some clothes. Lisa couldn't go. So she said to him "I can't go, but Laura can. Here you go." And hands me the phone. I felt so awkward, but Eric played it cool. I went with him on our first unofficial date. We went shopping, he bought me frozen yogurt, we came back to my house and played games, made dinner together, and then went to his house to watch a movie. He held my hand that night while watching "Strange Brew".

And he held my hand again when we hung out the next night.

Then he went out of town.